● “Japanese investors bought $2.87 billion of Australian bonds in February…(2015)…the second-biggest amount in the past 10 years, Ministry of Finance data showed….Australian bonds have remained attractive (2.25 per cent)…to Japanese investors, where yields are not far from zero”

Source: Japanese bond buying slows Aussie’s descent, by David Rogers, The Australian Newspaper, Thursday April 9th, 2015, page 31.

● “Engineers at Mitsubishi Heavy Industries are developing a wireless power transmission system that uses microwaves. They hope the system can provide electricity to facilities in remote areas where it is difficult to install power cables”

Source: The Small Print, By Steve Trautlein, MetropolisJapan.com, April 9th 2015, Issue 1098.

● “The (Japanese) government last week…submitted a bill making it mandatory for workers to take five days of paid holiday a year… Japanese employees took only half their holiday allowance last year…says online travel agency Expedia”

Source: Cutting hours the Japanese way by Kana Inagaki, The Financial Times, Australian Financial Review, Thursday April 9th, 2015, page 24.